Mark Sumner

Going back to the early weeks of the infection in China, there were reports that some people had been reinfected with the virus behind COVID-19 after apparently recovering from the disease. Some of the early numbers suggested that the reinfection rate was as high as 15%, but that was, and remains, pretty definitely untrue. These early results came from people who had received a series of tests and at some point tested negative before testing positive again.

As of the 700PM CT update from the National Weather Service, Hurricane Laura was carrying sustained winds over 150mph. That puts it close to the border for Category 5, but even if it doesn’t cross that line, this is an extremely dangerous storm. Predictions now call for a 15’ storm surge over 100 miles of coastline, with a surge as high as 20’ near the point of impact.

Earlier this month, the National Weather Service made it clear that this was going to be an “extremely active” hurricane season, with a projected 19-25 hurricanes. The average season only brings a dozen, meaning that 2020 could easily be—on top of everything else—among the biggest hurricane seasons on record.

But even for an extremely active season, the possible event that could hit the north Gulf Coast next week seems extraordinary.

Joe Biden appeared on a stage, not in Milwaukee, but in Wilmington, Delaware to accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. But if the convention was constrained by the disaster that’s resulted from Donald Trump’s malignant neglect of the COVID-19 crisis, there was nothing small about Biden’s speech.

In a long career, Joe Biden has delivered many speeches, but none of them were a match for what he did on Thursday evening.

Once upon a time, most Americans would have been hard-pressed to name the postmaster general. That fabled time was any time before May of this year, when Donald Trump replaced Postmaster General Megan Brennan with Louis DeJoy. And yes, I had to look up Megan Brennan.

What position of power did Brennan occupy before taking over the Postal Service under Barack Obama? None.

There are a number of organisms that have come up with some genuinely unique adaptations over the 4+ billion years that life has been a going concern on planet Earth, and several of those relate to how organisms fight off diseases. When it comes to immune systems, human beings are actually blessed with a robust and active system with a multitiered approach to fighting off parasites, bacteria, and viruses.

Every night that federal forces were deployed in Portland, the crowds grew larger. And every time those federal forces showed their lack of experience with law enforcement—and willingness to use violence even if that meant shooting peaceful protesters in the face—more people came forward to show that they wouldn’t be intimidated. There was a wall of moms. A wall of dads. A wall of veterans.

Science, as it is done in in most laboratories around the world, advances by careful steps. Medical science in particular can involve months or years of theoretical models, in-vitro testing, and animal trials before first first pill, procedure, or needle approaches a human being. But there’s another kind of science. The kind practiced by people who maybe empathized a little too closely with Robert Heinlein characters a little too closely in their youth.

During a question and answer session on Tuesday afternoon, Joe Biden let reporters know that his selection of a vice-presidential candidate is imminent. “I’m going to have a choice the first week in August and I promise, I’ll let you know when I do,” said Biden.

With over 80 vaccines announced and 14 already in human trials, chances are a candidate vaccine for COVID-19 may be getting tested soon at a location near you. As these vaccines move into Phase 3 testing, where the goal is to really see if they’re effective against the virus, they will need thousands of volunteers.

On Tuesday, the United States reported 1,119 deaths from COVID-19, the highest number since back on July 2. The early numbers on Wednesday aren’t looking any better, with Florida already logging 140 deaths even though information is incomplete. All of this coming just a couple of weeks after governors in several of the most affected states were bragging about how, sure, there had been a surge in cases, but they hadn’t brought along an increase in deaths.

In his latest appearance on Fox News, Donald Trump declared that he thought testing for COVID-19 was “overrated,” though he grudgingly agreed that he would allow tests to continue.

The debate over what it takes to be safe during the COVID-19 pandemic continues, with many researchers worried that the social distancing guidelines now in place are insufficient in light of  evidence the disease can be spread by smaller aerosol particles. But as experts debate the relative safety of various locations and activities, one things has remained clear: The absolute worst situation is a large number of people, for a sustained period of time, in an indoor location.

On a Sunday morning in 1971, Americans woke up to discover that all prices and wages in the nation had been frozen. If eggs were selling at 50 cents at the local grocery, they would stay at 50 cents right up until December. It didn’t matter if there were raises due the following week—no one was getting a raise until the end of the year. The same thing applied to service fees, or to costs like rent.

Last month, biotech firm Moderna Therapeutics reported very, very early positive results from a Phase 2 trial of their COVID-19 vaccine. This week it was the turn of more established drug maker Pfizer to announce that their vaccine showed similar promise and that they were also heading into Phase 3 studies in the next two weeks. These two vaccines are just two of better than 80 vaccine efforts that have been announced around the world.

CNN is reporting that, despite denials by Donald Trump and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, information on Russia paying bounties for the murder of American soldiers was included in Trump’s “daily brief.” That briefing happened “sometime in the spring,” though CNN does not indicate that their source provided a precise date for the briefing.

On Tuesday, Texas posted a record number of COVID-19 cases, totally over 4,500. However, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott declared that better than 1,500 of those cases didn’t count, because they were just cases that hadn’t been tallied before. So the real number was only around 2,900—making it still the highest day for the state so far.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement containing a number of digs at his former colleague John Bolton. After admitting that he had not read the book, Pompeo wrote, “It is both sad and dangerous that John Bolton’s final public role is that of a traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with its people.” Now, now, boys, don’t fight. You’re both traitors who have damaged America.

Donald Trump is no longer shuffling out to do the multiple-hour free association test that passed for a briefing on COVID-19. So he no longer has the cameras of every network focused on him as he explains how everything is “totally under control,” or how “it miraculously goes away,” or when he repeatedly insists that “this is just like flu.

On Friday morning, Donald Trump came out for a victory lap because the unemployment rate is only 13.3%. The unexpected dip in the unemployment rate is being taken as validation of the decision to “reopen” America, not just by Trump, but by a whole squadron of right-wing pundits who are filling airwaves and social media with a flood of celebratory told-you-so.